Time for lawmakers to pass a federal budget

One of the duties of our elected leaders in Washington is to pass a federal budget each spring. The resolutions, as spelled out by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, are supposed to set a framework for spending and taxation through the coming fiscal year.

It should be a fairly clear-cut homework assignment. Indeed, it always was until three years ago, when Democrats and Republicans in Congress, increasingly divided and unable to work together on anything, just stopped passing budgets.

In New Jersey and other states, an annual budget is constitutionally required and government shuts down if a balanced budget isn't passed by the start of the fiscal year.

We saw it happen here in the Garden State in 2006, and it wasn't pretty. After a few days, then-Gov. Jon Corzine and legislators came to their senses, called a truce on their fighting and got a budget passed.

In Washington, there are no such consequences for not having any budget, let alone a balanced one.

So our government trudges along, taxing and spending, spending and taxing, with no real budget established, just endless temporary spending measures.

There have been budget proposals, by Republicans in the House and by Democrats in the Senate, but no substantive compromise between the two to allow for the passage of a budget in the Senate since 2009.

As with so many things in dysfunctional Washington, both sides are to blame. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Democrats in his caucus have put off voting on a full budget to avoid votes on politically charged spending amendments that Republicans pledged to propose.

President Barack Obama's 2012 budget was rejected by a vote of 97-0 in the Senate.

Last April, a budget proposal sponsored by Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., that was based on Obama's 2013 budget plan lost in the House by a vote of 414-0.

The two sides simply cannot or will not get past their ideology to meet in or near the middle. It's pathetic, and enough is enough.

The bipartisan No Labels movement, which puts problem solving over partisanship (what a novel idea) has, since 2011, pushed for the No Budget, No Pay Act.

It's perfectly simple: If members of Congress don't pass a federal budget, they don't get paid. Extreme? Maybe. But it just might light a fire under our representatives in the Capitol and get them to take action.

It's not right that our elected leaders fail to do their duty in the most basic form of fiscal leadership, which is adopting a budget. So our tax dollars should stop paying their six-figure salaries.

Let them go without pay and see how fast they get a budget passed.

We suspect it won't take very long.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Time for lawmakers to pass a federal budget

One of the duties of our elected leaders in Washington is to pass a federal budget each spring.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Real Deals

Sales, coupons, circulars and more from your favorite Morris County area retailers.